Once upon a time there lived a mouse and a cat.
One day a mouse leaned out of a hole and said to the cat:
- Let's become brothers with you.
“You won’t make a brother,” the cat answers.
- Why? — the mouse was surprised.
The cat explained that the mouse is a coward, a thief and a pest, and therefore is not suitable for him, the cat, to be a brother.
“You’re right, I’m a little cowardly, but I’m not a thief or a saboteur,” answered the mouse.
The cat smiled and asked:
“Aren’t you the one who chews through the bags and carries flour and grain?” The mouse answers and asks:
- And you, brother cat, why don’t you eat anything? Do you eat air?
“First I meow, asking for something to eat, and the owner throws me meat and bread.” And you, without asking anyone, carry around everything that is bad.
After much arguing, the cat finally agreed:
- Okay, let's be friends. But if you deceive me, blame yourself, I will eat you.
The mouse was happy, and they began to live together. One day the mouse suggested to the cat:
- Brother cat, it’s autumn, the weather is good, there’s a lot of food around. And soon winter will come, everything will be covered with snow, life will become difficult. Let's stock up on provisions for the winter.
“Come on,” the cat agreed.
“You know,” said the mouse, “they’ll kill me if I take on this matter.” It's better if you start going home. If you see where the butter is being churned, you meow and they will give you a piece of butter. This will create a supply for the winter.
The cat agreed with this too. He collected a lot of oil. The mouse and the cat found a clay pot, put oil in it, took it to the garden and buried it under a tree. Some time passed. Winter was already upon us. The mouse could not stand it and deceived the cat.
“Brother cat,” he says, “today they give a name to my cousin, I was invited to visit, let me go.”
“Go, but come back quickly,” the cat allowed.
The mouse said goodbye to the cat and left the house. The mouse went straight to the hiding place, raked up the earth, ate some butter, filled the hole with earth again and returned home.
- What was your cousin's name? - asked the cat.
“A little,” answered the mouse.
“Let him be happy, beautiful name,” said the cat. - But what does it mean?
- Brother cat, I myself still don’t understand the meaning of this name. Soon they will give names to my other two cousins, then I will explain to you the meaning of all the names. Several days passed. The mouse wanted to eat butter again.
- Brother cat, today I was invited to another cousin, I can’t help but go - my relatives will be offended. Allow it.
The cat allowed the mouse to go this time too. The mouse quickly ran to the treasured tree, dug up the pot, ate up half the pot of oil, buried it again and returned home.
- What was your cousin's name? - asked the cat.
“Half,” answered the mouse.
“Your relatives give strange names,” the cat was surprised.
Several more days passed. The mouse sees that it is getting frosty outside, it will snow soon, it will sweep everything around - then he will not be able to find a potty.
- Brother cat, let me go to my third cousin. You can't offend relatives. “Let me go for the last time,” the mouse asks.
“Brother mouse,” the cat answers, “I have nothing against it, go, just come back quickly - it’s boring at home alone.”
The mouse ran to the tree, dug up a pot, ate all the oil, and buried the empty pot. Returned home. The cat asked what the newborn was named this time. “Basically,” answered the mouse. The cat was surprised and smiled.
“Why are you smiling, brother cat,” asked the mouse, “don’t you like the name?”
- I know that all names have meaning. “But I can’t understand the meaning of these names,” the cat answered.
“You’ll understand when you look into the pot,” said the mouse.
-What are you talking about, little mouse? - the cat exclaimed. - What does the pot have to do with it? - And the cat remembered about the supply of oil. - Brother mouse, it’s good you reminded me of the potty. After all, we have a whole pot of butter hidden, let’s go and see how it is.
“I’m tired from the road, brother cat,” the mouse excused himself, “we’ll visit tomorrow.”
The cat agreed. They went to bed. In the morning the cat says:
- Well, get up, let's go see how our butter is, brother mouse.
The mouse wanted to make an excuse this time too, but the cat insisted. They went to the tree, dug up the pot, but it was empty.
“Oh, sly one, you ate the butter,” the cat got angry. The mouse said that the cat himself ate their supply. They began to bicker.
- How could I eat so much butter? - says the cat.
“First a little, then up to half, and then to the bottom,” explained the mouse.
Then the cat understood everything.
“I know these words,” he exclaimed. “That’s how you went to see your cousins.” You ate the butter, and I will eat you.
“But we are friends, brother cat,” the mouse pleaded. “They don’t eat friends.”
“That’s right, they don’t eat friends,” says the cat. - But remember, you and I agreed that if you deceive me, if you steal, I will eat you. Well, you haven’t gotten rid of your bad habits, and that’s why you’ll die. You ate butter, I'll eat you.
The cat rushed at the mouse and swallowed it.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru